Palabra clave ‘HIV positive’

A study of Australian gay men examining unprotected sex and the beliefs that are associated with it has found that the concept of ‘treatments optimism’ needs to be unpacked. While some men do think that having HIV is less serious than it used to be, there is more of an association between unprotected sex and men believing that treatments have made HIV-positive people less infectious.

A two-year, seven-country study has concluded that women using hormonal contraceptives, particularly injectable forms, are at a greater risk both of acquiring HIV themselves and of passing it on to a male sexual partner. Presenting the results to the International AIDS Society conference in Rome yesterday, Renee Heffron of the University of Washington said that strategies are needed to improve access to and uptake of lower-dose contraceptives and non-hormonal methods – such as IUDs, implants, patches or combination injectables.

In theory, it should go something like this: pregnant woman tests HIV-positive as part of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services at her antenatal clinic, and tells dad-to-be; dad tests for HIV and they support each other, start treatment if need be, and prevent HIV transmission to baby or dad.

Nonqaba Jacobs, 28, comes from a rural community outside East London; both parents were HIV-positive and she tested positive in 2004. In 2005 she moved to Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, where she found treatment and attitudes towards HIV to be a world away from what she experienced in the Eastern Cape. These days she is doing well, but is worried about her mother, who has gone off her antiretrovirals in favour of “faith healing” at the Christ Embassy church.

As the number of people receiving HIV treatment continues to rise – 6.6 million people were taking antiretroviral drugs by December 2010 – it is important to ensure the technology to test and monitor patients on ARVs be made simpler, cheaper and more easily available to high prevalence, low-income countries, say experts.

A ‘Virtual Hospital’ that provides a comprehensive package of HIV care is a safe and feasible option for chronically HIV-infected people whose condition is stable, a Spanish study published in the online journal PLoS ONE suggests.

That young people are particularly vulnerable to HIV and AIDS is well established, but a new report reveals for the first time new data on HIV prevalence in this group, which accounts for almost half of new adult infections globally.

In 2008, Monde Kenneth Hobongwana, 37, tested HIV-positive. A student of business management at the time, he had been tested before, and blames risky behaviour for his status. He says that having a support structure is key to accepting one’s status, but acknowledges that among men, it is still a difficult subject to discuss openly.

YOUNG people are leading the prevention revolution by increasingly acting to protect themselves from HIV said the African Union (AU) during the pre-summit African Youth Forum that was held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.